About Us

Joseph Ferra brings to Elevation over 20 years of financial, strategic and leadership experience in the pharmaceutical/biotechnology industry. Prior to becoming CEO, he served Elevation as Chief Financial Officer and Interim CEO. Before joining Elevation, he was Chief Financial Officer of Syros Pharmaceuticals where he led the development and implementation of key financial and capital strategies and contributed to corporate initiatives. Previously, he spent over a decade as an investment banker in the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industry, where he established a strong track record of advising on equity and M&A transactions. This included serving as Managing Director and Co-Head of Healthcare Investment Banking at JMP Securities and being a member of the investment banking groups at JP Morgan and UBS. Earlier in his career, Joe served in sales and engineering roles in the life science tools industry. He earned his MBA from The Stephen M. Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan. He obtained a B.S. in Chemistry with Distinction from Purdue University, where he contributed to published papers and conducted research at the National Institutes of Health. 

Joe also currently serves as a member of the Executive Committee of the General Board of Directors and as the Chair of Audit & Risk Committee for the YMCA of Greater Boston.

Joe resides in Rhode Island and enjoys playing guitar, sailing, hiking and anything else involving the outdoors.

Tammy Furlong is the Chief Financial Officer at Elevation Oncology, responsible for the financial oversight, management and compliance of the organization. Prior to becoming CFO, she served the Company as Vice President, Finance and Accounting. Tammy is a solutions driven financial executive with extensive leadership experience in accounting, financial reporting, information systems, financial transformation, global strategy and management areas encompassing more than 20 years with Fortune 500 publicly traded companies. Prior to joining Elevation Oncology, she was a finance consultant where she focused on capital raising, strategic transactions and finance operations for multiple biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies. Tammy’s experience in financial transformation lends strategic focus and expertise integral for a growing portfolio.

Tammy has a BS in Accounting from Adelphi University, an MBA from Bentley University, a Graduate Certificate in Project Management from the Boston University Metropolitan College. She is a Certified Public Accountant licensed in Massachusetts and a Project Management Professional with the Project Management Institute.

Tammy resides in New Hampshire and enjoys swimming, running, hiking, cycling, and skiing.

Valerie Malyvanh Jansen, MD, PhD is a physician-scientist who brings over 10 years of experience in medicine and oncology drug development. Prior to joining Elevation Oncology, Valerie was Executive Medical Director at Mersana Therapeutics, serving as the medical lead for the clinical development of antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs). Prior to that, she was Senior Medical Advisor at Eli Lilly, where she led global translational science for abemaciclib and served as the lead Clinical Research Physician on early and late phase clinical trials. Through her scientific and clinical expertise, she impacted multiple early and late stage clinical programs as well as preclinical R&D and corporate business development.

Valerie started her career in academia as a faculty member at Vanderbilt University, with a translational research program focused on understanding mechanisms of resistance to cancer targeted therapies. She also cared for patients with breast cancer in the clinic, exemplifying the bench-to-bedside model. She co-authored numerous peer-reviewed research articles and received numerous awards for her research endeavors including a Susan G. Komen Postdoctoral Fellowship, ASCO Young Investigator Award, AACR Women in Cancer Research Scholar Award, and SABCS Clinical Scholars Award.

Valerie received her MD from the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine and her PhD in Molecular Sciences from the University of Tennessee Health Science Center. She completed residency in Internal Medicine and fellowship in Medical Oncology through the ABIM Physician-Scientist Research Pathway at Vanderbilt. Valerie is board certified in Internal Medicine and Medical Oncology.

Robert C. Yang has over 10 years of experience serving as counsel to public companies during stages of substantial growth, mainly in the biotechnology industry. Prior to joining Elevation Oncology, he was Executive Director and Assistant General Counsel at REGENXBIO, a leading gene therapy company, where he advised on several major capital markets and corporate development transactions in addition to legal matters across all business functions. Earlier in his career, Robert was an associate at the international law firm of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, where he practiced in the areas of capital markets, securities regulation and corporate governance. He received his J.D. with honors from New York University School of Law and his B.S. in Economics from Duke University.

Maegan Deegan brings over a decade of extensive experience in the pharmaceutical and clinical research industry. Currently serving as the Vice President of Clinical Operations at Elevation Oncology since 2023, Maegan plays a pivotal role in overseeing clinical activities. Previously, she held the position of Senior Director of Clinical Operations at Elevation Oncology for three years, demonstrating her commitment and expertise within the organization. Before joining Elevation Oncology, Maegan served as the Director of Clinical Operations at Biohaven Pharmaceuticals and Clinical Operations Team Leader at Loxo Oncology, solidifying her leadership capabilities and strategic acumen in oncology research. Prior to these roles, Maegan served as a Clinical Project Manager at Spinifex Pharmaceuticals and as a Clinical Site Manager at Bristol-Myers. Maegan’s diverse background and proven track record make her a valuable asset in driving our clinical operations and advancing our oncology research initiatives.

Maegan Deegan received her Master of Science degree in Project Management at Boston University.

Henry B. Koon, MD is a physician scientist who has over 20 years of experience in Medical Oncology and Drug development. He joins Elevation Oncology from BioNTech where he was a Senior Director in Clinical Development who partnered with the business development group to evaluate potential collaboration assets. Prior to joining BioNTech, he was the Clinical Development Lead for the anti-CTLA4 Probody and bempegaldesleukin programs at Bristol Myers Squibb. As the Clinical Development Lead, he oversaw clinical studies in melanoma as well as gastrointestinal, genitourinary and breast cancers. He initially joined BMS as a Clinical Trial Physician for melanoma and bladder cancer studies in the nivolumab and Indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase (IDO) inhibitor programs.

Before transitioning to industry, Henry was an Associate Professor at the Case Western Reserve School of Medicine / Case Comprehensive Cancer Center (CCC) focused on cutaneous malignancies and sarcoma. He served as Chair and Co-chair of Case Comprehensive Cancer Center Protocol Review and Monitoring Committee and a member of the Institutional Review Board. He was the Medical Oncology Lead for the Cutaneous Malignancy Program and Sarcoma Programs at the Seidman Cancer Center / University Hospitals.

He completed his Hematology / Oncology fellowship at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC). After his fellowship, he participated in the AIDS Malignancy Clinician Scientist Training program. During his faculty appointment at BIDMC he conducted translational research in AIDS malignancy investigating the use of signal transduction inhibitors and angiogenesis inhibitors in the treatment of Kaposi’s sarcoma. In addition, as a member of the Biologics/Cutaneous Malignancy Group at BIDMC, he was a clinical investigator focused on the use of immunotherapy in GU cancer and melanoma.

Michael Carruthers currently serves as the Chief Financial Officer of Edgewise Therapeutics (NASDAQ: EWTX). Mr. Carruthers has over 20 years of experience serving as Chief Financial Officer for publicly-traded biopharmaceutical companies, with extensive experience across corporate finance and strategic planning including IPOs, secondary offerings and M&A transactions. Most recently, Mr. Carruthers consulted as Chief Financial Officer for several private and public companies. Previously, Mr. Carruthers served as Interim President of Nivalis Therapeutics, a publicly traded company acquired by Alpine Immune Sciences, in 2017 and Chief Financial Officer and Secretary from 2015 to 2017. From 1998 to 2015, he served as Chief Financial Officer for Array BioPharma Inc., a publicly traded company acquired by Pfizer Inc. Prior to this, he served as Chief Financial Officer of Sievers Instruments, Treasurer and Controller for the Waukesha division of Dover Corporation and Accountant with Coopers & Lybrand. Mr. Carruthers received a B.S. in accounting from the University of Colorado and a M.B.A. from the University of Chicago.

Dr. Cherrington is an experienced life science executive with extensive insight in bringing novel product candidates into the clinic and through to commercialization. Over the course of her career, Dr. Cherrington contributed to the successful development of multiple U.S. Food and Drug Administration-approved products, including SUTENT®, PALLADIA®, VISTIDE®, VIREAD®, and HEPSERA®, and served as President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) for several biotechnology companies.

She currently serves as a Venture Partner at Brandon Capital Partners, as well as Chair of Actym Therapeutics, Chair of Tolremo Therapeutics, and director at Syncona Limited, Sardona Therapeutics, KisoJi Biotechnology and MycRx. Earlier, Dr. Cherrington served as CEO of QUE Oncology, and as President and CEO of Arch Oncology, Revitope Oncology, Inc., Zenith Epigenetics, and Pathway Therapeutics.

Dr. Cherrington holds a B.S. in Biology and an M.S. in Microbiology from the University of California, Davis, and completed her Ph.D. training in Microbiology and Immunology at the University of Minnesota and Stanford University. She completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of California, San Francisco.

Tim Clackson, Ph.D., is President and Chief Executive Officer at IDRx. Tim most recently served as President and Chief Executive Officer at Theseus Pharmaceuticals, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on improving the lives of cancer patients through the discovery, development, and commercialization of transformative targeted therapies. Prior to Theseus, Tim was President and Chief Technology Officer at Xilio Therapeutics, a privately held oncology company developing tumor-selective immunotherapies, where he led the development of the company’s technology and product strategy. From 1994 to 2018, Tim was with ARIAD Pharmaceuticals, where he was President of Research & Development and Chief Scientific Officer. He played a key role in the company’s evolution from early research to a global commercial oncology company, and its subsequent acquisition by Takeda. He led the multi-disciplinary R&D team that internally discovered and developed five clinical-stage product candidates, including ICLUSIG® (ponatinib), approved for patients with treatment-resistant Ph+ leukemias; ALUNBRIG® (brigatinib), approved for ALK+ non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC); and EXKIVITY® (mobocertinib), approved for EGFR Exon20 insertion+ NSCLC. Prior to ARIAD, Tim was a postdoctoral research fellow at Genentech. He received his Ph.D. in Biology from the University of Cambridge, and his B.A. in Biochemistry from the University of Oxford. Tim serves as a director on the boards of Forma Therapeutics, Theseus Pharmaceuticals, and the Massachusetts Biotechnology Council (MassBio).

Steve Elms is a Managing Partner at Aisling Capital, a leading life sciences investment firm. Prior to joining Aisling, he was a Principal in the Life Sciences Investment Banking Group of Chase H&Q (formerly Hambrecht & Quist), where he was involved in over 60 financing and M&A transactions, helping clients raise in excess of $3.3 billion in capital. Prior to H&Q, Mr. Elms traded mortgage-backed securities at Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette. His previous healthcare sector experience includes over two years as a pharmaceutical sales representative for Marion Laboratories and two years as a consultant for The Wilkerson Group. Mr. Elms currently serves as a director of ADMA Biologics, Marker Therapeutics, and was previously Chairman of the Board of LOXO Oncology. He also serves on the INVO Board at Northwestern University and the Board of Ajax Health. He received his M.B.A. from the Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern University and his B.A. in Human Biology from Stanford University.

Joseph Ferra brings to Elevation over 20 years of financial, strategic and leadership experience in the pharmaceutical/biotechnology industry. Prior to becoming CEO, he served Elevation as Chief Financial Officer and Interim CEO. Before joining Elevation, he was Chief Financial Officer of Syros Pharmaceuticals where he led the development and implementation of key financial and capital strategies and contributed to corporate initiatives. Previously, he spent over a decade as an investment banker in the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industry, where he established a strong track record of advising on equity and M&A transactions. This included serving as Managing Director and Co-Head of Healthcare Investment Banking at JMP Securities and being a member of the investment banking groups at JP Morgan and UBS. Earlier in his career, Joe served in sales and engineering roles in the life science tools industry. He earned his MBA from The Stephen M. Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan. He obtained a B.S. in Chemistry with Distinction from Purdue University, where he contributed to published papers and conducted research at the National Institutes of Health. 

Joe also currently serves as a member of the Executive Committee of the General Board of Directors and as the Chair of Audit & Risk Committee for the YMCA of Greater Boston.

Joe resides in Rhode Island and enjoys playing guitar, sailing, hiking and anything else involving the outdoors.

Darcy Mootz, Ph.D., currently serves as President of Architect Therapeutics, a position she has held since April 2023. Dr. Mootz is an experienced life sciences executive, who brings expertise across corporate strategy, corporate development, finance, and operations. She previously served as Head of Amunix Pharmaceuticals from February 2022 until April 2023 and was Chief Business Officer of Amunix from February 2019 to February 2022. Prior to joining Amunix, Dr. Mootz was an independent consultant working with venture capital firms and life sciences companies on corporate development and strategy projects. Before that, she served as Chief Business Officer of ORIC Pharmaceuticals, and, earlier, served as Vice President, Corporate Development at Achaogen. In addition to the Elevation Oncology Board, Dr. Mootz also serves on the Board of Directors of Alpha-9 Oncology.

Dr. Mootz received a B.S. in Biology from Duke University and a Ph.D. in Biochemistry from Harvard University.

Alan Sandler, MD is an accomplished leader in oncology and drug development, with experience leading clinical development and operations, regulatory affairs, drug safety and asset development strategy across industry and academia. He is the Chief Medical Officer of ALX Oncology, a publicly-traded, clinical stage immuno-oncology company and serves on the scientific advisory board of Tolremo Therapeutics.

Prior to that, he was the Executive Vice President and Chief Medical Officer of Mirati Therapeutics, a Bristol Myers Squibb Company. Before joining Mirati Therapeutics, Dr. Sandler was President and Global Head of Oncology for Zai Lab, where he led global oncology development for the company. Previously, Dr. Sandler was the Senior Vice President and Global Head, Product Development of Oncology Solid Tumors at Genentech, a member of the Roche Group. He has also held academic roles at Oregon Health and Science University, Indiana University and Vanderbilt University. Dr. Sandler holds an M.D. from Rush Medical College and completed his training in internal medicine and a fellowship in medical oncology at Yale-New Haven Medical Center.

He has published over 300 publications including peer-reviewed articles, reviews, abstracts, and book chapters.